GuruTrack preview: Wine experts worth quoting

In all our time tending to the joys of running SaucyJoes, we have had the great fortune to meet some extraordinary wine professionals. And, interestingly enough, we've found out we're wine snob snobs. We don't just hang out w/ the experts because they know more than we do. In fact if they know a lot more, and act like it (characters not exclusive to wine, mind you, but abundant in the field) we're running the opposite direction w/ hands cupped over ears -- I can't hear you I can't hear you lah lah lah lah.

Pretty savvy no?

Okay, so not the most mature approach, but we know many would approve.

All this points to the real point which is we currently have four very favorite wine experts, three of whom we'll introduce briefly here as an entree to our upcoming wine guru review coming in December.

First is our all-time favorite, David Borzo. A 30-year food & beverage guy whose expertise in running everything from small bistros to large corporate dining operations has earned him choice positions serving major corporations' fine dining service, David has a fine wine pedigree. His background also includes having well-versed (and well-connected) wine connoisseurs in his family. It makes for great (for us) sibling rivalries when we visit his little portion of heaven in Des Moines. He's a regular blogger, a very accomplished artist and is well known in Midwest wine circles.
To top things off, he often collaborates with his web guru spouse Sherry (more on her later) and we're excited to know he has several reviews upcoming for SaucyJoes this year.

Our second expert is Mr. James Doutre. Jim teaches several wine appreciation classes in Dallas/Fort Worth, and has a large and enthusiastic following among students and professionals because of his warm and engaging approach to fruits of the vine. Having been a wine buyer for many years, his know-how stretches beyond the wines, and on into the people and personalities found in all stations in the wine hierarchy. He regularly travels to pursue his passion and connections in wine regions, and brings that ongoing knowledge to his classes and events.

Natalie MacLean, our third and newest guru is perhaps one of the best known wine pros spreading the gospel of great wine and wine practices. Her book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass is a highly lauded guide to what she calls her "last three years sipping, spitting and slogging her way through the international wine world to visit some its most evocative places and to meet some of its most charismatic, obsessive and innovative characters."

She is warm, funny, charming and ultimately tireless in her pursuits (she answered one of our queries in the wee hours of the morning) which is exactly what you want in an expert.

So, Now you have a brief preview. We look forward to sharing more about what makes these three (and our fourth mystery guest) such compelling people to follow on the road to wine expertise and enjoyment.